Conifer Treasury

of the World

Home of the Conifer Cultivars

Breeder’s Hall of Fame

A brief story of 250 years conifering

Currently at the year 2011, I think it’s best
to divide cultivar-history into different stages.

The first conifer age happened since the
botanical beginnings of Linnaeus 1753 to 1959, I name it
Classical Conifer Age. That time any cultivars were
described by botanists. After a while it was clear, that this job
must be shared with the gardening.

The ’second stage’ as a result of the
publication of (’The World Checklist of Conifers’ Welch/Haddow)
in 1993, showed all of us that there were men and women on
European and North American continents, that had really created a
name for theirselves... some of these people include: Krüssmann
(Germany) - Horstmann (Germany) – Grootendorst (Holland) – zu
Jeddeloh (Germany) - Barabits (Hungary) - Iseli (USA) – Lundell and
Johannson (Sweden) & Jerry Morris (USA); It’s appropriate to
let the reader know that these men and women may be regarded as
„heroes” - for their outstanding work in the field of
conifer-discovery. And, now gardeners have many options to go to in
the general overall use of dwarf & miniature conifers &
cultivated tree-forms, as selections. This is the Conifer Hero
Age (1959-1993), when great persons were able to work, their
names are well known overall the world. This age looks to be
unfinished, the documentations are rather poor, even lost. We have
to learn, save and develop further the achievements of Welch in
detecting conifer cultivars, as I’m following him in this work.

The 3rd Conifer Age has come upon us,
now. More and more „enthusiasts” wheather at the
propagation level, or just the adventurous level, more and more
conifers of color and shape are being brought to us from the wild
as well as - the „urban forests.” The numbers of these
people are increasing. Some of today’s most-well-known, include:
Jiri Holata, Ján Sláma, Vladimir Valenta (Czech Republic), Edwin
Smits (Netherlands), Stephen Grubb, (United Kingdom) – Greg Sampson
(NZL) – Jörg Kohout (Germany) - Hodi Toth (Hungary) -etc. I am
writing their history before there is a chance that it could
become, lost. The same will apply to others, whom I believe their
„life monument” should be recorded before the paper trail,
disappears. Some include: Jerry Morris (USA), (Justin) „Chub”
Harper (USA); Larry Stanley (USA); Greg Williams (USA); Sidney
Waxman (USA); Ed Rezek (USA); Randy Dykstra (USA). These men are
coming to this age where I believe it becomes important that their
records are not lost, forever. They all join to the Breeder’s Hall.
We need living heroes to learn their secrets. We need botanists,
who bring down the forests from the mountains to the people as
likely dwarfs or any forms, colours. And we need to be informed
about conifering news throughout the world as soon as possible.

The first 3rd Conifer Age experimental book is
published by me about the Hungarian Conifer Treasury. More than 890
hungarian breeded cultivars with full documentation are in. The
breeders are staying now in the middle, fully description, photos
from the www, and the plant story, of course. As anybody is reading
the book on a computer, will have all possible available
informations about the subject.